The Capitulation of Alexandria in August 1801 brought to an end the French expedition to Egypt.

Background

French troops, defeated by British and Ottoman forces, had retreated to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

where they were

besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

. On 30 August 1801 the French general Abdullah Jacques-François Menou offered to surrender and proposed terms, which were considered, partly accepted and in many details amended, by the British general John Hely-Hutchinson and admiral

Lord Keith Baron Keith was a title that was created three times in British history, with all three creations in favour of the same person, Admiral the Honourable Sir George Keith Elphinstone. He was the fifth son of Charles Elphinstone, 10th Lord Elphinsto ...

Text

The text of the Capitulation is printed in full in Robert Wilson's ''History of the British expedition to Egypt''. Each article as proposed by General Menou is followed by a comment: the proposed articles as amended by these comments form the capitulation as it was finally put into effect, bringing the conflict to a formal end on 2 September 1801. The document is signed by

General-in-Chief General in Chief has been a military rank or title in various armed forces around the world. France In France, general-in-chief (french: général en chef) was first an informal title for the lieutenant-general commanding over others lieutenant- ...

Menou, Admiral Keith, Lt.-General Hely-Hutchinson, Lt.-Col.

James Kempt General Sir James Kempt, ( – 20 December 1854) was a British Army officer, who served in the Netherlands, Egypt, Italy, the Peninsula, and British North America during the Napoleonic Wars. He led a British brigade at the Battle of Waterloo and ...

, and the

Kapudan Pasha The Kapudan Pasha ( ota, قپودان پاشا, modern Turkish: ), was the Grand Admiral of the navy of the Ottoman Empire. He was also known as the ( ota, قپودان دریا, links=no, modern: , "Captain of the Sea"). Typically, he was based ...

Küçük Hüseyin Pasha Küçük Hüseyin Pasha (1757 – 7 December 1803), also known as Tayazade Damat Küçük Hüseyin Pasha, was an Ottoman statesman and admiral who was Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy) from 11 March 1792 to 7 December 1803. He w ...

, representing the Ottoman forces.

Transfer of Egyptian antiquities

Under Article 16 of the capitulation "the Arabian manuscripts, the statues, and the other collections which have been made for the French Republic, shall be considered as public property, and subject to the disposal of the generals of the combined army." This led to the transfer to British possession of the

Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle te ...

and other Egyptian antiquities collected by the French ''

Commission des Sciences et des Arts The Commission des Sciences et des Arts (''Commission of the Sciences and Arts'') was a French scientific and artistic institute. Established on 16 March 1798, it consisted of 167 members, of which all but 16 joined Napoleon Bonaparte's conquest ...

'' and the scholars of the ''

Institut d'Egypte An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institute, research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countr ...

''.

Spoils

At the Capitulation, the British discovered the French warships ''Cause'', ''Egyptienne'', ''Justice'' and ''Régénérée'', and two former

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

frigates in the harbour of Alexandria. The British and their Turkish allies agreed a division of the spoils. The British received ''Égyptienne'', ''Régénérée'', and "Venetian No. 2" – named by the French ''Léoben'' (ex-Venetian ''Medusa'') – of 26 guns. the Ottomans received the 64-gun ''Causse'' (ex-Venetian ''Vulcano''), ''Justice'', of 46 guns, and "Venetian No. 1" – ''Mantoue'' (ex-Venetian ''Cerere'') – also of 26 guns. The Turks also received some Turkish corvettes that were in the harbour. Admiral Lord Keith commander of the naval forces, gave the value of ''Régénérée'' for prize money purposes at £16,771 13 s 6 d.

Notes

References

External links

*{{commons-inline 1801 treaties Conflicts in 1801 French campaign in Egypt and Syria Military history of Alexandria 1801 in Egypt Treaties of the French First Republic Treaties of the Ottoman Empire Treaties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922) August 1801 events 19th century in Alexandria